186 CARNIVORA FISSIPEDIA. 



and it is claimed that when food is abundant it will only 

 suck the blood and eat the brains of its victims, leaving 

 the flesh untouched. The Stoat moves very rapidly and 

 hunts its prey by day and by night. It is a good climber and 

 also a good swimmer, although not an aquatic animalN The 

 young are produced in the spring, the usual number to a 

 litter being five to twelve. The full-grown animal is about 

 seven to twelve inches long, exclusive of the tail which 

 will measure about four inches. 



Koyal in its beauty, the fur of the Ermine has at all 

 times adorned the state robes of kings and queens, and 

 has always been in favor for occasions where full dress 

 was demanded. At present it is very popular for street 

 wear as well and the price is very high for the better 

 grades. 



The fur of the Ermine when made up with black spots 

 instead of tails is called minever, the whitest skins come 

 from Ischimer. Good medium grades, with extra fine 

 full furred tails that are black half their length, are 

 received from Tomsky and Perchorsky. The smaller skins 

 from Jakutsky and Janiseisky are white but flat, and the 

 Lasky skins have no black points on the tails. The Bara- 

 binsky skins are the largest and best of the Siberian 

 Ermines. The skins are put up for sale in "timbers" of 

 forty skins each. 



THE FERRET. 



Zoologists are now agreed that the Ferret (Putorius- 

 furor), with its pink eyes and yellowish white color, is 

 merely a variety of the Polecat, modified by the effect of 

 long continued captivity. Ferrets came originally from 

 Spain and Barbary, but now are bred for rabbit and rat 

 hunting both in Europe and the United States. The Fer- 

 ret has no strong local attachment and therefore must 

 be carefully secured. 



As is the case with most domesticated animals Ferrets 

 are more prolific than their wild allies; the young are 

 usually born in the spring, but sometimes there are two lit- 

 ters a year of from five to ten each. The Ferret will al- 

 most invariably seize a rabbit behind the ears. 



